Between Order and Randomness
by KB Kerns
Summary: When Haley James moves to Tree Hill right before the start of senior year, everyone's world, including hers, is turned upside down.
1. First Day On A Brand New Planet

A/N: This is my first shot at a One Tree Hill fanfic

**A/N: This is my first shot at a One Tree Hill fanfic. Seeing as it's my favorite show in the entire world, I figured I'd give it a try. Hope you like it! Reviews are lovely.**

**Summary: Starting in the summer before senior year instead of junior year, a different twist on the plotlines and characters and stuff from the actual show. Couples? Wait and see! (:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from One Tree Hill. I wish I owned Nathan Scott, though. **

_**Hand out the window, **_

_**Floatin' on air. **_

_**Just a flip of the wrist, **_

_**And I am wavin' you goodbye. **_

_**Drive past the lifeguard stand, **_

_**Where I'd sit around waitin' for you to remember. **_

_**As I drive... **_

Haley James' ipod was blaring with the Dashboard Confessional song as she stared out the car window, the scenery whirling past her.

She was on her way to a new town, a new life. And her parents couldn't have picked a better time, right before the start of her senior year.

'_Seriously, what kind of parents just up and move right before your daughter's last year of high school?' _she kept thinking. It was cruel and unusual punishment, but she couldn't think of anything she had done to warrant it.

She had to say goodbye to all of her friends in Savannah, where she had spent her whole life. Now she was moving to some hick town called Tree Hill. It wasn't on any maps she had seen, and she had certainly never heard of it.

One thing she _was _certain of was that it was going to absolutely suck.

"You're awful quiet back there, Haley-bop," her mom chirped from the passenger seat.

"Yeah, well you know, I'm just pumping myself up so that when we get there I can release all of my happy energy," she grumbled.

"That's what I like to hear, baby. You're going to love it in Tree Hill," her dad chimed in.

Haley rolled her eyes and turned up her ipod, tuning out the rest of the world for as long as she possibly could. Before she knew it, she was asleep.

About an hour later, she was awakened by the sing-song voice of her mother.

"We're here!" she said excitedly.

Haley groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Great," she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

They pulled into the driveway of the new house. It was a decent size, slightly bigger then their old one. It had a small yard, but all of Haley's siblings were either in or out of college anyway.

Haley looked around at the house. _'Well, it could be worse. We could be living in a box,' _she reasoned.

Then she happened to glance at the house next door. It was a large brick house, with beautiful landscaping and several expensive looking SUVs parked in the driveway.

'_And then there's that,'_

"Uh, are you sure our house isn't actually the pool house for that one over there?" Haley joked, pointing to the house next door.

"Very funny, Hales. Now start unloading," said her dad as he began taking out boxes from the truck.

Haley grabbed a box from the trunk of the car and was walking toward the front door when she heard the pounding of a basketball.

She glanced over at the house next door to see a tall boy with dark hair dribbling a basketball. He moved gracefully and swiftly, and the ball sailed into the hoop as soon as it left his hands. He went back for another shot, this time gripping the hoop as he sank the ball into it.

Haley felt herself staring at this boy, mesmerized by the way he moved. When the boy went to retrieve the ball, he turned around and locked eyes with her.

Her breath caught in her throat as she held his gaze. He didn't smile, or show any warmth. His stare was cold, but showed mild interest at the same time.

He looked away and went to shoot another basket. Haley was pulled out of her daze and shook her head.

'_Typical macho jock,'_

The James' spent several hours of unloading before Haley started getting hungry.

"Can we eat soon?" she asked her mother.

"Yeah, I guess we'd better. I don't know any places in town yet, though," she replied.

"I saw this little place in the center of town on the way here, I think it was called Karen's Café?" her father suggested.

"Hales, do you think you could run down and pick up some burgers or something? Dad and I need to finish unpacking," her mother asked.

"Well, I guess…I mean, I don't know my way around yet…" Haley started.

"Oh, it's right in the center of town. Just go straight from here, take a couple of rights, you know, follow the signs…" her father instructed.

"Great, dad, thanks," said Haley sarcastically as she grabbed her keys to leave.

"Or you could ask that cute boy next door, I'm sure he'd be happy to assist you," her mother winked.

"Ha ha," said Haley as she shut the door behind her.

'_Sometimes I think they plot ways to get rid of me,'_

When she got out to the car, she saw that the boy was no longer in his driveway.

She was going to have to make her own way to the café.

She hopped in the car and actually followed her father's directions. To her surprised, she arrived in front of a tiny building. The sign in the window read _'Karen's Café'._

Haley slowly opened the door to a rush of people chattering and plates and silverware clinking together. She made her way over to the bar, taking a seat on the stool.

A woman with dark curly hair approached her.

"Hi there, welcome to Karen's Café. What can I do for you?" the lady smiled.

"Hi, uh, I'm new here, so I don't really know what you guys have, but I just need to place a take out order," Haley said, nervously running a hand through her hair.

"Sure, hon. How about a menu?" she asked kindly, handing one to her.

Haley smiled. "Thank you,"

"Take your time," said the woman, smilingly warmly.

Haley presumed this lady was Karen, and decided right away that she liked her.

As she was glancing at the menu, a blonde boy behind the counter came over to her.

"You all set?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, I am actually…" she said.

"What'll it be?" he asked with a smile. He was definitely cute.

"Uh, can I just have 3 orders of cheeseburgers and fries please?" she asked politely.

"Sure thing, be right back," he said, and went back to the kitchen.

While she was waiting, she glanced around the café. It was small, but charming. It had pretty décor and a warm atmosphere. She also noticed a 'HELP WANTED' sign in the window.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the cute boy.

"Excuse me, but I can ring you up now, if you want. Your food will be out in a few," he said softly, as if he didn't want to bother her.

"Oh, sure! What do I owe you?" Haley asked brightly.

"Uh, it's going to come out to…18.85,"

Haley fished out a twenty from her wallet and handed it to the boy.

"So, you're not from around here, are you?" he asked, as he handed her the change.

She let out a small laugh. "It's that obvious, huh?"

He laughed too. "Nah, I've just never seen you before. I pretty much know everyone here,"

"Yeah, I just moved here today actually, from Savannah. I'm Haley James," she offered, extending her hand to him.

He smiled and took it. "Lucas Scott,"

"So you'll be going to Tree Hill High, right?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. That'll be a blast. My senior year and I won't know anyone," she sighed.

"Well, you'll know me. I'll introduce you to some of my friends too, if you want. Even though they're all guys…" he said.

She laughed. "Sounds good. But what do you have against girls?" she joked.

"Ah, they just aren't that into me. They think I'm weird,"

"Why would they think that?" she asked.

"Cause instead of getting drunk and partying all the time, I stay home and read," he smiled weakly.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that," she smiled back.

"Thanks. But even if they didn't think I was weird, they're all preoccupied," he continued.

"With what?" she asked.

Just then, the bells on the door of the café jingled, and Haley and Lucas turned to see who walked in.

It was the dark-haired boy who Haley had seen earlier. He was flanked by three other boys wearing varsity jerseys and a beautiful brunette who was clutching his arm. A pretty blonde girl with perfect curls walked in behind them, looking surly.

"Him," Lucas finished bitterly.

Haley turned back around to face Lucas, who suddenly looked sour.

"I think he's my new neighbor…" said Haley quietly.

"That sucks," said Lucas.

"Why, what's wrong with him?"

"Lots of things. He's a first class jackass for one. He's like a borderline alcoholic and sex addict. Pretty sure he's done drugs. He's also the greatest basketball player at Tree Hill," Lucas told her.

"Sounds like the picturesque varsity jock," said Haley.

"Oh he is. Watch out for him, he's nothing but a lot of trouble. I can't believe he's even here. He just shows up to stick it to me and my mom," Lucas said darkly.

"I take it he's not a friend of yours?" Haley asked.

"Worse. He's my brother, Nathan," said Lucas with disgust.

"Whoa, didn't see that one coming. So that means you're my new neighbor too!" she said excitedly.

Lucas laughed. "Sorry, but we don't live together. Actually, we pretend the other doesn't exist. I don't like to associate myself with him,"

"Are your parents divorced?" Haley asked him.

"It's a long story…" he trailed off.

"I've got time. Actually, no I don't. My parents will probably think I'm lying in a ditch somewhere if I don't go soon," she laughed.

"Oh, your food! Sorry, I completely spaced," he said, grabbing the paper bag from behind him. "It's still hot,"

She took the bag from him. "Thanks, Lucas," she smiled. "I guess I'll see you around…it was nice to meet you," she said, turning to leave.

"Wait," he said, tapping her arm.

She turned back around to face him.

"Do you maybe want to…uh…hang out tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

Her face lit up. "Sure! I'll come back tomorrow afternoon. You can tell me your long story,"

He laughed. "Sounds like a plan. Bye, Haley,"

"See you Lucas,"

Haley got off the barstool and made her way to the door, unaware that Nathan Scott's eyes were following her as she thanked Karen and walked out the door.


	2. Welcome To The Neighborhood

Thank you all so much for your reviews, I'm so glad you guys like it so far

**Hey guys, sorry it took so long to update. Things have been crazy in my life, but its summer now, I so will be updating MUCH more often. Thank you all so much for your reviews, you guys are so sweet! I'm so glad you like it so far. Keep up the feedback!**

**As far as the pairings go, I don't want to give anything away yet, but I promise you'll like them (:**

Haley awoke the next morning to the familiar sound of a basketball pounding away on concrete. Of course, her bedroom had to be the one facing the driveway next door.

'_Does he ever stop?'_ she wondered.

She got up from the uncomfortable mattress she had been sleeping on and glanced at her cell. It was just about noon.

"Morning, sleepyhead," her mother said as Haley shuffled into the new kitchen.

"Hey," she mumbled in response.

"We were just going to come see if you were still alive," her dad joked.

"We went out and got muffins, help your self honey," her mother said, pointing to a box of them on the table.

Haley nodded gratefully and took one. Then she remembered she should be getting ready to go see Lucas. She stuffed the muffin into her mouth and left the table.

"Where are you off to?" asked her mother.

"Oh, I'm going down to that café…there was a HELP WANTED sign in the window and I thought I might apply. I'm going to need a distraction from the fact that I have no friends," Haley pointed out dryly.

"Aw, sweetheart, you'll make friends," her dad sympathized.

"Well, until I do, what better way to spend the rest of my summer then to waitress!" she said brightly. "I'm going to get ready,"

She rushed upstairs and quickly searched the only box her mother had put in her room, trying to find something decent to wear. It was just her luck that the only decent things available were jeans and a tiny tank top that couldn't really pass for a shirt.

She scourged the box deeper for a sweatshirt, and instead was met with her multi-colored poncho that resembled a throw-rug. Actually, throw-rugs were probably better looking.

She sighed, put it on reluctantly and went back downstairs.

"See you two later," she called to her parents.

"Bye sweetie," they replied in unison.

Haley grabbed her car keys and went outside. Once again, her eyes managed to travel over to the exceptionally good looking boy next door. Once she started looking, she couldn't seem to stop. He was almost magnetic.

He seemed to sense someone watching him, because he turned around and stared right back. He gave her an appraising look and went back to dribbling.

"Damn it," she mumbled under her breath. It would certainly make her life less embarrassing if she didn't look like an 80 year old woman in her poncho.

Without looking back at him, she got into her car and drove to the café.

When she got there, she immediately looked for Lucas. She spotted him cleaning a table.

"Hey!" she said cheerfully, making her way over.

"Hey, Haley, I wasn't sure you were gonna come," he said.

"Are you kidding? You still have to tell me your big life story! You're nuts if you think I'd miss out on that," she said enthusiastically.

He laughed at her eagerness. She was finding that she liked the sound of his laugh. It was almost comforting, in a way.

"So, where do you wanna go?" he asked.

"Well, you'd know better than me. This is the only place I know of besides my own house,"

"I think I know a good place. Come on, we can go in my truck," he said, taking out his keys. "Let me just tell my mom,"

Lucas told his mom he was leaving and walked Haley out to his pick-up truck.

Haley glanced at the writing on it.

"Keith Scott Body Shop, huh? Is he your dad?" she asked.

"He's my uncle, actually. He ties into the "long story"," Lucas told her.

"Ah, the plot thickens. So where are we going, anyway?"

"Trust me, you're gonna like it," he smiled.

They only had to drive for about 5 minutes before Lucas pulled into what looked like an empty playground.

It was right along the river, and Haley could see all the boats whizzing by. It was really a pretty place. The only thing occupying the area was a small basketball court, several picnic tables, and a section of bleachers.

"This, Haley, is the River Court," said Lucas proudly.

Haley surveyed the pretty scenery around her.

"I like it," she declared.

Lucas smiled. "I figured you would,"

He grabbed a basketball from under the bleachers and began shooting around.

"Do you play?" he asked her.

Haley scoffed. "If by 'play' you mean that ridiculous game named after some farm animal…cow or something…you probably don't even know what I'm talking about."

He laughed. "Horse?"

"Yeah, that one,"

She watched him shoot around for a few minutes before she popped the question.

"So, what's this big life story you have? I definitely have time now,"

"Good, you might want to sit down," he said, leading her over to the bleachers.

"When my mom graduated from Tree Hill High, she was dating Dan Scott…Nathan's dad…who is actually my dad too," he started.

Haley raised her eyebrows with interest.

"He's a real bastard, he got my mom pregnant with me, then he left her before going to college," he continued bitterly.

Haley gasped. "That's so sad,"

"It gets better. While he was at college, he met Nathan's mom, Deb. And if you can imagine, he got her pregnant too," Lucas continued.

"Oh my god," said Haley with disgust.

"But instead of telling her that he had already gotten my mom pregnant, he blew off my mom completely and proposed to Deb,"

"That son of a bitch," Haley concluded.

"My mom was pretty devastated, and Dan married Deb in a hurry. First I came along, then Nathan a few months later. My mom raised me alone, and Dan and Deb built a huge house and raised Nathan,"

"That's awful, Lucas," Haley sympathized.

"Yeah it was. My mom had to raise me herself. She wasn't alone though. My uncle Keith, Dan's brother, helped out a lot. He's like a father to me," said Lucas.

"Aw, that's really nice. I'd like to meet him, he sounds like a good guy,"

"He is, you'll like him,"

Just then, a truck pulled onto the grass beside the court. Four boys got out and were making their way over to Lucas.

"Looks like the guys are here. Come on, I'll introduce you," he said, leading her over to them.

"Hey guys, come here, there's someone I want you to meet," he called them over.

"This is Haley James," he said, showing her to everyone.

Haley surveyed the boys. There was three guys who looked to her age, and a scrawny looking one who seemed younger.

"Yo, Haley, what's good? I'm Skillz," the first boy introduced himself.

"I'm Fergie, this idiot over here is Junk," said the second boy, smacking Junk in the back of the head.

"I'm Mouth," the scrawny one piped up.

"Where'd you get a name like that?" Haley asked curiously.

"I talk a lot," he shrugged sheepishly.

"Nice to meet you guys," Haley smiled. "It will be nice to know some people so that I don't look like a hermit when I start school,"

"Well, then it's a good thing you're gonna know some good looking dudes," Skillz said with a wink.

Haley laughed, feeling a sense of relief that she was being accepted.

Lucas smiled at her, but then looked behind her, suddenly distracted.

Haley turned around to see what he was staring at. She saw a blue punch buggy speeding past the river court, with the beautiful brunette from the café in the driver's seat.

She turned back around to face Lucas, who looked dazed.

"Friend of yours?" she asked.

"Ha, he wishes," Skillz interjected.

"Who is she?" Haley asked.

"That's Brooke Davis, THE finest girl to walk the halls of Tree Hill High. Little Luke over here has been fantasizing about getting with that since the 7th grade," Skillz laughed.

"You can shut up now, Skillz," said Lucas, snapping out of his daze.

"I think it's sweet," Haley said, defending Lucas.

"I really don't fantasize about her, honestly," Lucas said quickly.

"OK, dude, whatever you say," Fergie said, shaking his head.

"You only completely freeze up every time she's within one hundred feet of you," Mouth agreed.

"So she's pretty, big deal. She's dating Mr. Macho Jock anyways," said Lucas with a tone of finality.

"Is she nice?" Haley asked. She was curious now.

"I wouldn't know. From what I can tell, she loves attention. She drinks a lot, and I heard she cheats on Nathan with his best friend Tim," Lucas explained.

"Have you ever actually talked to her?" Haley asked. She hated when people were quick to judge.

"No," he admitted.

"Well, maybe she's great. Maybe she's really sweet and caring, and maybe if you talked to her then she'd like you," Haley said. She was such a hopeless romantic.

"Don't bank on it," said Lucas. "Anyways, can we drop it? It was like, a junior high crush," he said, waving it off.

"Whatever you say," they all agreed, waving it off as well.

"So guys, you up for a game?" Lucas asked.

"What else would we be doing?" Skillz replied.

"You mean like a REAL live game of basketball?" Haley asked nervously.

All the guys just stared at her.

"I think maybe I'll just sit this one out," she said, walking towards the bleachers.

"Oh come on, Hales, it'll be fun. You can be on my team," Lucas offered.

She smiled. "How could I say no to that?"

She got up and joined the boys as she played her very first game of basketball.

Maybe Tree Hill wouldn't be so bad after all.

--

Brooke Davis was driving in her expensive blue buggy (a.k.a her baby), just zipping around Tree Hill as she often did. She had her good looks and daddy's credit card and that was how she got by. Her parents certainly didn't give a rat's ass where she was or who she was with.

And that usually included the resident bad boy Nathan Scott.

They seemed a perfect fit. He was the captain of the basketball team. She was the captain of the cheerleading squad, and they were both gorgeous. It only made sense that they would be a couple.

As much as Brooke liked him, she occasionally wondered what it would be like to have some epic romance, like in the movies or on TV.

Nathan didn't look at her the way Noah looked at Allie in the Notebook. They weren't passionate like Jack and Rose in Titanic. They didn't have those cute moments like Ross and Rachel, where they could just be fun and playful and know what they had was deep.

If she was honest with herself, she knew what she and Nathan had wasn't deep at all. Not even close.

She liked him, of course. He was funny and gorgeous and athletic. He was also a first-rate jack ass. He was conceited and self absorbed. He was only interested in Brooke if it meant that whatever they did would lead to making out or having sex.

Brooke was okay with that, though, and that made her feel shallow. She grew up not knowing what love was. Her parents didn't love her or each other. She really only had her friends.

She smiled at the thought of them as her cell phone vibrated from inside her purse.

"Hey, P. Sawyer," she chirped.

"Hey you, what are you doing?" came the bored voice of Peyton Sawyer from the other line. Brooke envisioned her drawing some depressing sketch while staring all broody at her web cam, blasting her 'complaint rock', as Brooke called it.

It seemed unlikely that the two would be best friends, but they had been since 6th grade. They were complete opposites, but somehow they worked. There was no one Brooke cared about more, actually. Peyton was pretty much family.

"Just driving around, I got a new bathing suit today," said Brooke conversationally.

"Are you gonna wear it to Nathan's party tomorrow night?" Peyton asked.

Nathan was having one of his usual Saturday night beach house bashes. All anyone did was drink and hook up with each other. Thank god everyone had Brooke there to make things more interesting.

"Yeah, I guess I will. Listen, I gotta run, but I'll call you later today," said Brooke.

"Later, B. Davis," Peyton said as she hung up.

Brooke had been so distracted that she hadn't realized where she was driving. She found herself near the river, driving by some basketball court. She had seen it before when she was driving with Nathan. His brother hung out here a lot.

She saw people there and scanned the court, looking for people she knew. It was unlikely that anyone she hung out with would be caught dead in "The Other Scott territory", but she thought she'd check anyway. She loved busting people.

As she scanned, she noticed a blonde boy in the grey hoodie talking to some girl. She recognized the boy as Lucas Scott, Nathan's brother, but had never seen the girl before.

Without meaning to, she locked eyes with Lucas. He was staring her down, most likely letting her know that this was unwelcome territory for her. She quickly averted her eyes and sped up her car.

He wasn't bad looking, but he was definitely odd. Whenever she saw him, he was reading something. She didn't know any boys that read.

Apparently he was good at basketball, too. She had seen him play when she drove by with Nathan. Nathan would argue that he was nothing special, but even Brooke could recognize his talent. She almost felt bad that he would never join the basketball team because of Nathan.

Pushing her boyfriend's estranged brother from her mind, she decided that one more trip back to the mall wouldn't hurt.

There was never anyone home waiting for her, anyway.


	3. Are You True?

A/N: Thanks to everyone for their continued support, I'm really glad you all like it

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for their continued support, I'm really glad you all like it!**

The following couple of weeks seemed to drag. The heavy haze of mid-August hung over Tree Hill constantly. Haley and Lucas spent most of the days just lying around on the roof of Karen's Café, the one place of relief from the heat.

"I'm bored," Haley whined.

"It's too hot to do anything," Lucas complained.

"We could go to the beach," Haley suggested.

"But that would involve actually moving," Lucas pointed out.

"So I guess the River Court's out?" Haley asked.

"The guys aren't even around," he replied.

"You know, there IS A.C in the café. What are we doing up here?" she asked.

"Everyone in town is at the café right now," said Lucas.

"We could help your mom," she offered.

"Yeah, I guess we could," he considered.

"I've been meaning to ask…I noticed there was a Help Wanted sign in the window. Any chance I could set up an interview with your mom?" Haley asked.

"Hales, she probably won't even interview you. She loves you already," said Lucas.

Haley smiled at his new nickname for her. "She's so nice,"

"Yeah, she's pretty great. Let's go talk to her," Lucas said, getting up and stretching.

The two went down into the madness that was the café. Everyone in Tree Hill was escaping the heat with cold drinks and the cold corporate air.

"Lucas, there you are, you think you can help out a little?" Karen asked when she saw him.

"Actually, ma, I wanted to ask you something," said Lucas.

"Sure, what is it?" Karen stopped and looked at him.

"Do you think you could give Haley a job?" he said, motioning towards Haley.

Karen smiled. "Can you start right now?" she asked.

Haley looked surprised. "Well, I…sure," she smiled.

"Great! Don't worry, Lucas will help you everything," Karen said, and went back to dealing with customers.

"Okay, I didn't think it would go THAT well," said Haley nervously.

"Don't worry Hales, I got you covered. Just stand at the register and take orders, and I'll ring people up for you, okay?" he said kindly.

He was always so comforting. "Sure," she nodded.

Haley waited nervously at the register, but the crowd seemed to be dying down since it was after noon now. No one was coming in as Haley and Lucas waited around the register.

"Ok, not as hard as I thought it would be," Haley laughed.

"Just wait till dinner," said Lucas.

The sound of bells clanging snapped their attention to the front door, and in walked the beautiful Brooke Davis.

Haley turned to Luke. "She comes here a lot, huh?"

Lucas mumbled something incoherent and quickly went back to the kitchen.

Haley giggled to herself as Brooke approached the counter.

"Hi," said Haley cheerfully.

Brooke smiled. "Hi, can I get a small strawberry smoothie to go, please?"

"Uh, sure, hold on just a sec," said Haley as she went out back to find Lucas.

"Hey, Luke, can you make a small strawberry smoothie to go for your beau? Ha, I rhymed," said Haley slyly.

"Shut up," Lucas grumbled as he made the smoothie. Haley checked a menu to see how much it cost and went back out front.

"That's gonna be 1.75, please," said Haley to Brooke.

Brooke fished out the cash from her large, expensive looking bag. Brooke smiled and handed Haley the change.

"You're new here, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yeah, actually," Haley blushed.

"I can tell, I've never seen you before. Everyone in Tree Hill knows me," said Brooke. Haley could tell she probably hadn't meant for that to come out as snobby as it did.

"I'm Brooke Davis," she offered.

"I'm Haley James," Haley smiled back. Brooke didn't seem so bad to her.

Brooke just smiled and waited for her smoothie. Haley was beginning to wonder what was taking Lucas so long when Karen called her.

"Hey, Haley, can you clean this table off for me?" she asked.

"Sure thing, Karen. Nice meeting you, Brooke," said Haley as she went to clean the table.

Lucas came out front to hand the smoothie to Haley, but she wasn't there. Lucas looked around frantically as Brooke stared at him.

Lucas saw he had no other choice but to give it to Brooke himself. He nervously walked over to her and handed it off without a word.

"Uh, thanks," said Brooke uncertainly. Lucas looked like he was going to throw up.

Brooke looked at him strangely and exited the café. Lucas watched her go, and saw her go right into the arms of Nathan, who had been waiting outside. He saw her reach up and kiss him, and a surge of jealousy pulsed through him.

'_Way to go, Luke, make yourself look like a mute idiot in front of Brooke Davis,'_

He shook his head and tried to erase the embarrassing encounter from his mind. Haley popped up beside him.

"Sorry I left you alone with her, I needed to take care of a table for your mom," she apologized.

"Ah, no biggie," he brushed it off.

"Well, did you talk to her?" she asked excitedly.

"Not exactly," he blushed.

"What happened," she asked.

"More like, I didn't say a word and kinda just handed the smoothie to her. She was staring at me all weird, she probably thinks I'm retarded," he groaned, running a hand through his blonde hair.

Haley laughed. "I'm sorry Luke, maybe next time,"

"I don't think there's gonna be a next time, Hales," Luke sighed, but he was smiling.

"I didn't know you were that into her," said Haley.

Lucas scoffed. "It's so weird. I've never even talked to her, so I really shouldn't be,"

"Maybe someday," Haley sighed.

"Maybe," he sighed, and the two went back to waiting around at the register.

At about 7:00, Karen let Haley off.

"You've had a good first day, go home and be with your family," she smiled.

"Thanks, Karen, what time do you want me tomorrow?" Haley asked.

"How does noon sound?"

"Sounds good! I'll see you guys tomorrow," said Haley as she waved and walked out the door.

"I like her a lot," Karen said to Lucas once Haley had left.

"She's great," Lucas agreed.

--

Haley was about to pull in her driveway when a basketball rolled out in front of her, followed by a very good looking boy.

Haley slammed on her breaks and let out a sigh of relief when the crash did not come.

She looked up to see 'gorgeous boy', as she'd been calling him, staring at her.

Haley got out of the car. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see—"

"No worries," he cut her off nonchalantly. It was the first time she heard him speak. He had a deep voice that made him sound older than he was.

He picked up his ball and started dribbling in her driveway.

"So, you're the new girl huh?" he nodded at her.

Haley sighed. She was getting that a lot, lately. "That's me,"

"Where are you from?" he asked.

"Savannah," she replied carefully.

He didn't reply. He just kept dribbling his ball and staring at her.

"I notice you hang out with…Lucas, a lot," he said, as though it physically pained him to say his name.

"Yeah, you're brother right?"

"Don't call him that," he snapped. "And he's not my brother, he's my half brother. We don't have the same mom, thank god," he added.

Haley liked this boy less and less every time he spoke.

"Karen's really great, do you even know her?" Haley defended her.

"I know she was stupid enough to let my dad knock her up," he smirked.

Haley was shocked at the boy's rudeness. "You really shouldn't judge people before you get to know them," she said.

"Okay, thanks mom," he said with an eye roll.

Haley had had just about enough of this douche bag. She turned to walk away but he stopped her.

"Hey, hold on a sec,"

She whipped back around. "What?" she snapped.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said in a tone that indicated he wasn't really sorry at all. "You're gonna be my new neighbor, I might as well be civil to you, right?"

"Come to my party tomorrow," he continued.

"Excuse me?" she asked. She must not have heard him right.

"My party. I have one every Saturday night at my beach house. You should come, consider it a welcome party," he winked.

"Thanks, but no thanks," she snapped.

"You can even bring your good pal Lucas," he smirked with a trace of bitterness in his voice.

"No, I'm all set," she said, staring evenly at him.

"Suit yourself. But if you change your mind, the address is 16 Driftwood Lane, down by the beach. Maybe I'll see you there," he smirked again, and dribbled his basketball back to his own driveway.

He turned around to look at her. "I'm Nathan Scott, by the way. Remember the name," he said.

"I'm Haley James, and you probably won't even remember it five minutes from now," she called back, and stormed into the house. She wasn't really sure why she said that.

She put her keys down on the kitchen counter and noticed her parents had gotten pizza. She wasn't particularly hungry after her encounter with 'gorgeous boy', who she was now going to call 'ass clown'.

"Haley bop, is that you? We got pizza," her mom called from the living room.

"Thanks mom, I'm not really hungry though," she called back. "Actually, I'm going to go to bed,"

Her mom appeared in the kitchen. "It's only 7:30, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just tired. I got a job today," Haley told her.

"That's great, Hales! Where?"

"Karen's café. I started today and I'm going back tomorrow,"

"Well good for you, darlin', sleep tight," she said as she hugged her.

Haley trudged upstairs and flopped down on her bed. She considered calling Lucas and telling him about her meeting with Nathan, but decided to wait till tomorrow.

She began to wonder if she and Lucas should crash Nathan's party. It was definitely a chance to meet more people. She wouldn't know anyone there, unless she brought Lucas. Which she wouldn't, considering Nathan would probably tear him apart.

Her mind suddenly drifted to Brooke Davis. She would likely be there, since Nathan was her boyfriend. She only met Brooke today, but she seemed nice enough. Maybe she would hang out with her.

'_Please, Haley James, who are you kidding? She'll be with her cheerleader friends, drinking and making out with Nathan, and you will be sitting in the corner like a dunce,'_

Her mind was made up. She would definitely not be attending this 'welcome party'.

--

The next day at Karen's, Haley sprung the news on Lucas.

"So, I think I met Satan last night," she told him.

Lucas laughed. "Nathan or Dan?"

"Nathan. And I'm pretty sure that after meeting him, I don't ever want to meet Dan," she said.

"He also invited me to a party at his house tonight. Weird huh?" she continued casually.

"He did?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Yeah, I thought it was weird. Like why would I want to go?" Haley said, brushing it aside.

"You should go," Lucas told her.

"What? Are you kidding? So I can be the idiot in the corner who doesn't know anyone? Although he did tell me to bring you…but I think it was a joke,"

"Yeah, that wouldn't go over too well," said Lucas. "But I think you should go, it will give you a chance to meet people,"

"Nah, I don't think so. The jocks and the cheerleaders aren't really my cup of tea," said Haley.

As if on cue, the bells on the door chimed and in walked Brooke Davis.

"Oh my god, are you kidding me?" Lucas mumbled. There was no where for him to run.

Brooke approached the counter. "Hi, New Girl," she said cheerfully. "Can I get a small ice coffee to go?"

"Sure, Brooke," she said, and went to go make it.

Lucas was left standing with Brooke, completely mortified and unsure what to do.

"So, are you gonna ring me up, or are you just gonna stand there and stare at me again?" Brooke asked.

Lucas turned to her, surprised that she had spoken to him.

"Uh, it's 1.50," he said nervously. He could feel his palms starting to sweat.

"Ah, so you do talk," she said, fishing change out of her wallet and handing it to him.

Lucas gave her a small smile and nodded, taking her change. Much to his relief, Haley came back with the coffee. "Here you go, Brooke,"

"Thanks. Hey New Girl, Nathan told me you're his new neighbor. You gonna go to his party tonight?"

"Oh, uh, probably not, I'm not gonna know anyone…and it would just be awkward," Haley said.

"What are you talking about? You'll know me, silly! I'll introduce you to some people, we can do a couple rounds, it'll be fun," she said excitedly.

"Well, I don't know…" Haley was still unsure.

"Oh come on, New Girl, do you want a good reputation in Tree Hill or not?"

Haley wasn't exactly sure what Brooke's idea of a good reputation was.

"So I'll see you there?" Brooke asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'll be there," Haley finally agreed.

"Coolness!" she said excitedly, and went to leave.

"Oh," she turned back to them. "You should come too, Quiet Boy," she gave him a small smile and walked out the door.

Lucas stared after her, dumbfounded.

"Hey Luke, not to get you all excited but, I think Brooke Davis just invited you to a party," Haley joked.

"We're going," he said firmly.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," he nodded.

"Ok, pick me up at 8?"

"See you then,"

Haley quickly left the café so she could go home and find something decent to wear to this gig. She was pretty sure her grandmother's poncho wouldn't impress these Tree Hill kids.

'_Haley James, what did you just get yourself into?'_


	4. Crash Course In Polite Conversation

A/N: Oh my gosh, I really didn't expect such a positive response for this, thank you all so much for reviewing, you're so swee

**A/N: Oh my gosh, I really didn't expect such a positive response for this, thank you all so much for reviewing, you're so sweet! **

8:00 finally rolled around as Haley put the finishing touches on her outfit. She didn't know what the hell to where, so she finally decided on a pair of shorts and a pink tank top. She actually straightened her hair for once.

She heard a car beep outside. She looked out her window to see Lucas in his pick up truck. She ran downstairs, bidding her parents good-bye.

"Be home by midnight," he father called as she ran out the door.

Haley walked down the driveway and hopped into Lucas' car.

"You look nice," he commented once she was in.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Luke," she smiled. He was wearing his usual white-washed faded jeans, but instead of his usual sweatshirt, he wore a nice fitting tee-shirt.

He had also done something with his hair, like he had run water through it.

"Are you nervous?" he asked.

"Not as you are, I bet," she replied coyly.

"I'm not nervous," he protested.

"Oh please, you can't even look at Brooke without breaking into a sweat," she laughed.

"Okay, I feel like I'm gonna throw up," he gave in.

"Don't even worry about it, chances are she won't even talk to us," Haley reassured him.

"Well, I'm used to that," he said.

After what seemed like hours, they arrived at the large beach house. Lots of cars were parked outside already, and music blared from inside.

"This must be it," said Lucas. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," she replied.

"Let's do this," he said, getting out of the car.

"You're feeling more confident, hmm?" she asked.

"Guess so," he said, already half way up the path.

Haley jogged to catch up to him, and they went through the front door.

They were greeted by the heavy thumping of some rap song, as people scattered around, yelling and dancing and running around the house with whipped cream cans.

"Well then," said Haley brightly.

They went into the kitchen where there were two huge kegs. Some people were funneling beer out of it, while others were smoking in the corner.

"Welcome to Tree Hill," Lucas said to her.

"I'll say. I guess they do party harder in smaller towns," said Haley.

"That's what I hear,"

Brooke and Nathan came through the porch door, holding the infamous red plastic cups that could only mean they were full of alcohol. Brooke spotted Haley and Lucas and ran over to them.

"New girl! You came!" she said excitedly. She looked at Lucas. "Hi there, broody. You gonna have some fun tonight?" she winked at him.

"Uh, hi Brooke," he gulped, attempting to smile normally.

"What the hell is HE doing here?" Nathan spoke up, glaring first at Lucas than at Brooke.

"I invited him Nathan, chill," Brooke shot him a look.

"Uh, sorry, WHY?" Nathan asked, clearly angry.

"Because, New Girl doesn't know anyone else. Besides, it's a party, everyone goes," Brooke answered.

"My name is Haley, by the way," Haley interjected. "Just incase you were wondering…at all…" she trailed off, realizing they weren't listening.

"How could you do that Brooke?" Nathan asked angrily.

"Will you grow up? What's he gonna do, drink all the beer?" Brooke shot back.

Lucas just stood there, looking between Brooke and Nathan.

"Uh, I'll just go, I probably shouldn't have come…" he started.

"No, guys, don't leave, please stay," said Brooke. "It's not a problem, right Nathan?" she said, gritting her teeth and digging her nails into his arm.

"Ow, god Brooke!" he wrenched his arm out of her grip. "Fine, stay, whatever," he said, throwing his arms up and storming off.

The pretty blonde with the curly hair came over to Brooke, staring at Nathan as he stormed out of the kitchen.

"What the hell is his problem?" she asked Brooke.

"Nothing, he's just being a baby," Brooke brushed it off.

The blonde girl stared at Lucas and Haley.

"The other Scott, huh? That's a surprise. And I don't think I know you?" she turned to Haley.

"No, I'm new here actually, my names Haley James. You can call me New girl, everyone seems to be," Haley said to her.

"I'm Peyton," she gave her a half smile and turned back to Brooke. "Are you coming back outside? We're gonna play I Never,"

"Yeah, sure," said Brooke. "You guy's coming?" she asked.

"Uh, I guess," said Haley. "Come on, Luke,"

Lucas reluctantly followed her outside. The game had already started.

"Okay, I have a really good one. I never had sex with anything made of plastic!" a blonde girl giggled.

"Bevin, that is the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Brooke rolled her eyes.

Peyton laughed. "Come on Brooke, drink up!"

Brooke rolled her eyes but smiled as she chugged whatever was in her cup.

The guys in the circle catcalled and whistled.

"Ok….I never…no wait, I did that," Brooke giggled. Nathan put his arm around her shoulders.

"I never ran down my street naked at 3 in the in morning waving to anyone who passed by," Peyton said.

"P.Sawyer, are you trying to get me smashed?" Brooke giggled as she took another chug.

"Where was I for that?" Nathan asked suggestively, tightening his grip on her.

"At home having wet dreams about it," Brooke teased, kissing him on the lips. The two started making out as the guys on the team whistled again.

"Seriously, are you guys like, in the 4th grade?" asked Brooke, pulling away.

"What about you, New Girl? You think of one," Brooke said.

"Oh, well, uh…I never…stayed out past my curfew?" Haley joked. Everyone just stared at her, and she wished the ground would just swallow her whole.

"I have one," Nathan spoke up.

Everyone looked at him intently.

"I never…had a father who wished I was a stain on his bed sheets. Drink up, Luke," Nathan smirked, staring down Lucas.

The guys on the team laughed and high-fived him. Bevin and Peyton's eyes widened. Brooke and Haley stared at Nathan open-mouthed.

Lucas glared at Nathan, unsure of how to respond. Finally, he scoffed bitterly, shaking his head, and walked away.

"Lucas, wait!" Haley called after him. The guys laughed some more and continued to chug their drinks.

Brooke punched Nathan hard on the shoulder.

"Damn it, Brooke, what the hell??" he asked, rubbing his shoulder.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you say that?" she asked angrily.

"What the hell do you care? You don't even know him!" he said, his voice rising.

"So what? You can't just talk to people that way, and I mean anyone, that's so rude," she argued.

"What are you on his side or something?" Nathan demanded.

"No, obviously, but I think that was a real shitty thing to say to someone!" Brooke was fuming.

"Please, he had it coming! He shouldn't have even shown up, and you shouldn't have invited him. Seriously, you're such a bitch, Brooke. But I guess that's the only thing you're good at," he sneered.

"You know what Nathan, I am SO sick of this shit," she said, getting up and stumbling.

"Look, you've only had like 3 drinks and you can't even stand up. You're a mess," he criticized.

"Oh, like you're such a saint. Where's you're precious stash of weed Nate, huh?" Brooke said, yelling louder than she meant to as the alcohol began to take over.

She got up again and headed towards the house.

"Screw you, Brooke," Nathan called after her.

"Not tonight you're not, buddy," Brooke called back, giving him the finger.

"Nathan, why are you such an ass?" Peyton asked, and ran after her best friend.

"She started it!" Nathan defended.

--

"Luke, wait!" Haley called, running after him. He disappeared through the crowd and she lost sight of him. She found him a few minutes later out on the front porch.

"I'm so sorry Luke, I knew we shouldn't have come, come on let's go," she said, motioning towards the car,

"It's okay, Haley, really. I should have known," he said, shaking his head.

"Well, do you want to leave?" she asked.

"You know, I think I'm okay right here for now. I just gotta, you know, take a breather so I don't beat the crap out of him," he smiled weakly. "Go back in, hang out with Brooke or something, we can go in a little while,"

"Are you sure?" she asked uncertainly.

"Positive, I'll be fine. This invite was for you originally, anyways," he assured her.

Haley hugged him. "You're a good guy, Luke. I think I know now who I really feel sorry for," she said bitterly.

"Thanks, Hales," he smiled.

Haley went back inside as Lucas sat out on the porch swing. Of course, Nathan made an ass out of Lucas right in front of Brooke. Brooke was probably rewarding him for it with a nice public make out session.

Just then, the front door crashed open, and Brooke stumbled out, drink still in hand.

Or not.

"Brooke?" Lucas asked tentatively.

She turned slowly to see who was talking to her.

"Oh, hey Broody Boy," she said, stumbling over to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, grabbing her arm so she wouldn't fall.

She plopped down on the swing next to him.

"I'll be alright," she shrugged, looking dizzy.

"Sorry for what Nathan said, by the way, he's a real dick," Brooke said bitterly.

"It's alright, it really doesn't surprise me," Lucas smiled weakly.

"No, its not right that he thinks he can talk to people like that," Brooke said more to herself than to him.

Knowing that Brooke was fully intoxicated and likely wouldn't remember any of this in the morning, Lucas felt more comfortable talking to her.

"Why do you stay with him?" he asked.

"Eh, it has its good and bad days, you know?" Brooke replied.

"You must really love him to stay with him when he treats you that way," Lucas mused.

"Love him? Oh, baby, I don't love him. Not even close," Brooke laughed softly to herself, holding her head.

"Oh," was all Lucas said.

"You deserve better," he added.

Brooke stared at him. "How do you know? You don't even know me," she pointed out.

"No, I don't, but I think everyone deserves better than him," Lucas shrugged.

Brooke stared at him. "You know, I really just stay with him because I'm lonely," she said conversationally.

Lucas looked at her sadly. She had said it so innocently, but he could tell there was pain behind her words.

"Why are you lonely, Brooke?" he asked.

She paused, debating whether to continue or not. Had she been sober, she would have left it at that, but she was drunk and not thinking clearly at all.

"My parents ignore me," she said simply.

Lucas felt a stab of sadness for the girl. She was shallow, but she clearly had feelings.

"They'd rather just throw a credit card at me and send me on my way then actually sit down and talk to me," Brooke shrugged sadly.

"I'm sorry Brooke," Lucas said. He meant it.

"It's okay, you know? I'm used to it. People say I crave attention, and you know what? They're right. I do,"

"I don't think you crave attention. I think people are naturally drawn to you," he told her.

She gave him a lopsided smile. "That's sweet, but I do. I mean, I could probably light myself on fire and my parents wouldn't notice, so I try to get myself noticed in other ways," she went on.

He stared at her. "I'd erase my dad completely if it meant your parents wouldn't ignore you anymore," he told her honestly.

Brooke stared at him for a few seconds, like she saw him in a new light. The next thing Lucas knew, Brooke had grabbed his face gently and kissed him full on the mouth.

Lucas pulled away. "Brooke, I--"

"Shh," she put a manicured finger to his lips. "No one has to know," she whispered, and kissed him again.

Lucas kissed her back. He hadn't had too much experience in the girl department, so he did his best to keep up.

Finally, Brooke pulled away. "What do you say we take this upstairs, broody?" she asked seductively.

"Brooke, your not really yourself right now, and I really don't need Nathan—"

"Screw Nathan! I'm drunk, you'll do," she smiled, and pulled him back into the house.

Lucas had dreamt about this since the 7th grade, but under these circumstances it felt wrong. She didn't _really _want him, she was drunk and just wanted a distraction from Nathan. He felt like he was taking advantage of her.

Brooke made sure no one had seen, and pulled him upstairs to an empty bedroom. She began kissing him intensely and running her fingers through his hair.

"Brooke, wait…stop," he said, pulling away.

"What's wrong?" she asked, seeming to get dizzier by the minute.

"Brooke I can't do this, you're completely trashed, it's not fair to you,"

"Sure it is! Just think of it this way, when I wake up tomorrow, I won't even remember any of this, you'll have gotten to have sex with me, and no one will ever have to know! Everyone wins!" she said cheerfully.

"As tempting as that sounds, Brooke, I can't. I have to go," he said, pulling away from her.

"So let me get this straight, broody boy. You're turning me down? Me?" she asked with amazement, her words becoming more slurred.

"Yeah, I'm sorry,"

"You must be joking. No, wait, you're gay aren't you?" she asked, stumbling towards him.

"Nope, just trying to do you a favor," he said, turning to leave. "Do you want me to drive you home?"

"I'll let you drive me home if you have sex with me," she bargained.

Lucas sighed.

"Still no? Jesus, you must be gay. Fine, I'm leaving then," she huffed, stumbling out the door.

"Brooke, you can barely walk," he said, holding her arm.

"I'm walking fine, Lucas," she said, her words slurred and slow. He had never heard her call him Lucas before. He didn't even know she knew his name. It sent shivers down his spine the way she said it.

No sooner had she went to take another step when she collapsed right into Lucas's arms.

"Brooke? Brooke are you okay?" he asked, shaking her. She was clearly out cold.

Her eyes fluttered open and closed and she was mumbling incoherent words. Lucas picked her up in his arms and carried her to the nearest bedroom. He gently placed her on the bed.

Brooke opened her eyes halfway and glanced at Lucas.

"Thank you," she mumbled, barely audible, as she passed out again onto the pillow.

Lucas brushed the stray hair out of her face, looking sadly at her. He never felt so much pity for someone. Who knew that behind all the smiling and cheerfulness was such a gravely lonely girl?

Lucas made his way back downstairs, bumping into Nathan on the way.

"What the hell are you still doing here, man?" he asked, slurring his words as well.

"Just leaving. You're girlfriend is passed out upstairs, just so you know," Lucas said, standing his ground.

"So what else is new? Just leave her there," Nathan mumbled, and walked away.

Lucas's fists clenched and it was all he could do not to beat the crap out of Nathan.

He saw Haley talking to Peyton and went over to her.

"Let's go, Hales," he said.

Haley waved goodbye to Peyton and followed Lucas out to the truck.

"You stayed a lot longer than I expected. What happened?" she asked.

"Brooke Davis," was his only response.


	5. The Search For Something More

A/N: Again, thanks to everyone for your continued support

**A/N: Again, thanks to everyone for your continued support. You are loved!**

Brooke Davis awoke to bright sunlight streaming in on her face and the sound of birds chirping.

She groaned and rolled over, trying to cover her head with the pillow. Everything was pounding.

"Brooke?" she heard someone call her name gently. She slowly lifted her head.

"Hey, Peyt," Brooke mumbled.

"You had a rough night, are you okay?" she asked, handing her some coffee.

"Yeah, thanks. I…did you bring me in here?" Brooke asked.

"As much as I love you, no I didn't. I didn't find you until 4:00 this morning. I didn't know where you went," said Peyton.

"Then who…" Brooke tried to think of who would possibly take care of her like that. Usually people just left Brooke on the floor when she passed out.

She tried to rack her brain for answers, but her head hurt too much, so she flopped back down on the pillow.

"Do you think it was Nathan?" Peyton asked.

"Ha, I doubt it. Where is he anyway?"

"Sleeping off his hangover on the couch," Peyton said, rolling her eyes.

"How about we get outta here once you can actually move, and we'll go get breakfast somewhere. You can come home with me and stay over for a couple of days," Peyton offered. Brooke often stayed at Peyton's since her dad was always away on fishing trips.

"Thanks P. Sawyer. What the hell would I do without you?" said Brooke.

"You'd probably be a lot better off," Peyton joked.

Brooke swatted at her. "Just give me a minute, I'll come downstairs once I shake off this coma,"

"Ok, I'll get your purse," said Peyton as she left the room.

Brooke sat up in bed, the fogginess wearing off as the headache kicked in. She tried to think back to last night. What had she done?

Then she remembered.

"Lucas Scott," she mumbled to herself.

'_Oh my god, did I have sex with him?'_

She thought back further. She remembered talking to him on the porch, and then taking him upstairs. She kissed him, she knew that much.

But then…

He stopped her. He said he didn't want to take advantage of her, and she got all bent out of shape and tried to leave. He was the one who put her on the bed. He put a blanket on her and made sure she didn't hurt herself.

She had to find him and thank him.

Peyton came back into the room with a glass of water and some aspirin. She handed it to Brooke.

"Thanks, girl," said Brooke, gratefully taking it.

The two got up and went downstairs. Brooke saw Nathan passed out on the couch and went over to him. She patted his head and blew him a kiss. He was a dick, sure, but she knew what he was going home to with Dan.

"Hey, Peyt?" Brooke said once they were outside.

"What's up?"

"I'll meet you back at your house, I'm gonna run home so I can shower and pack some clothes," said Brooke.

"Ok, B. Davis, I'll see you in a bit,"

"Thanks, best friend," said Brooke giving her a hug.

Brooke hopped into her beetle, now feeling better because of the aspirin. She started driving towards her house but then changed directions. She had a stop to make.

She turned on her radio and put her roof down, a little de-stressing ritual. She loved to do it on warm sunny mornings like this one.

Suddenly her phone rang, interrupting her peace. It was Nathan.

"I'm surprised you're awake," she answered coldly, still not fully over his behavior the night before.

"Hey, baby," came the sultry voice on the other end.

"Hi,"

"Look, about last night, I'm sorry," he started. She'd heard it all before.

"Nathan…"

"No, let me finish. I was out of line, and I'm sorry I freaked out about you and Lucas. I know it wasn't a big deal. Be friends with him if you want," he added the last part with a sarcastic tone, but he did sound sorry for freaking out on her.

"Nate, I'm not gonna be his friend, okay? Don't worry about it," she said.

"Good. So, are we okay?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, we're okay," she agreed reluctantly.

"Ok good, I hate when you're mad at me,"

"I'm not mad, Nathan," she sighed. She could never stay mad at him for too long.

"Great, I'll see you later," he said.

"I'll be at Peyton's if you need me, bye,"

"Bye,"

Brooke shut her cell phone and tossed it back in her purse. She couldn't do this, she couldn't go see Lucas. She knew Nathan would find out somehow, and it would create a whole new mess of problems. But the next thing she knew, she was driving by the river court. As she had hoped, he was there dribbling away.

She parked along the side and got out. He looked up and almost dropped the ball at the sight of her coming towards him.

"Hi, Lucas," she said, taking off her sunglasses.

"Brooke, hi, uh, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Listen, I just wanted to uh…thank you, for last night. Most guys wouldn't have done what you did. Actually no guy would have. I appreciate it," she told him honestly.

"It's okay, I just…uh, you know…" he said, tripping over his words. She noticed a blush creeping up on his cheeks. It made her smile a little.

"The thing is though, I shouldn't have kissed you," she continued.

Lucas didn't seem surprised. In fact, he seemed to expect it. He nodded in agreement.

"It was just a moment of stupidity and drunkenness, and I'm sorry that I was the one who ended up taking advantage of you,"

He nodded, waiting for her continue.

"What I'm trying to say is, I don't think we should really talk anymore," she trailed off, looking down.

"I know we don't really know each other, and we've never talked until yesterday, but it's already causing problems. And you seem like a really nice guy, it's just…"

"Nathan," he interjected, bitterly but again expectedly.

"Yeah," she agreed, looking down at her feet again. "I liked talking to you last night, Lucas. I wish we could be friends, but…" she was so upset with herself she couldn't even finish her sentence.

'_Why are you such a shallow bitch?'_

"It's okay, really. I get it, you're you and I'm me. We're from different worlds. You're the princess and I'm the outsider, that's just how it goes," he shrugged.

She felt a pang of guilt at his words. It was the honest truth, but the way he said it made her feel ashamed of herself.

"Once school starts next week, if I see you in the halls and don't say hi, please don't take it personally. If it got back to Nathan…"

"Why do you let him run your life?" he interrupted.

"Excuse me? I don't let him run my life, he's my boyfriend,"

"So you just do whatever he says?"

"It's not like that. Would you be friends with your girlfriend's arch enemy? Especially if it made your girlfriend _really _mad?" she asked defensively.

"I wouldn't care. Not if I liked the person," he said, staring evenly at her.

"You can't like me, Lucas. You don't even know me, and I don't know you,"

"Maybe I wanna know you," he said simply.

"Are you not getting any of this? _You can't_," she said exasperatedly. "Look, Nathan and I are good now, I just came to thank you, but clearly that was a mistake. I have to go," she said, turning to leave.

Lucas dribbled the ball and shot from half court. The ball went sailing through the hoops.

She turned back before getting into her car.

"I've seen you play before, you know. You're good, you shouldn't let Nathan stop you," she told him honestly.

"You either," was all he said.

Brooke pretended she didn't hear him. Instead she just got into her car and drove away, wishing more than anything that she hadn't come at all.

--

Haley groaned as she rolled over in bed, looking at her clock. The big red numbers read 1:00 p.m.

"Ugh," she grunted, rolling out of bed and onto the floor. "And I didn't even drink last night," she mumbled, picking herself up.

She heard a knock on the door. "Haley, are you okay in there?" her mother called from the other side.

"Fine, mom," she sighed.

Suddenly, Haley remembered that she had to be at work in twenty minutes

"Shit," she mumbled, running into the shower.

After taking the fastest shower of her life, she threw on some duds and ran downstairs.

"Gotta go, late for work," she called to her confused mother.

She ran out the door and painfully collided with something hard. Another body.

"Ow, what the--" she trailed off, looking up at Nathan Scott.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked rudely.

"You left this at the beach house," he explained, holding up her green hat.

"And you brought it back to my house, why?" she asked, surprised by the gesture.

"Because I don't want the ugly thing hanging around at mine," he shot back. "Do you want it or not?" he said, shoving it at her.

"Give me it," she grabbed it out of his hands. He turned and walked back down the driveway.

"What the hell was your problem last night anyway?" she yelled after him.

"What are you talking about? I invited you, didn't I?" he asked.

"Yeah, well the way you treated your brother was pretty awful,"

"I told you not to call him that," he said angrily.

"Why? It's the truth," Haley yelled. She marched down the driveway so that she was right in his face.

"Not to mention the way you treated your girlfriend,"

"Like that's any of your business," he scoffed.

"Whatever, I really don't understand why you're so popular. You're a huge…jerk!" she said, storming off to her car, leaving Nathan standing there in shock.

"Are you being serious? You don't even know anything about me," he said in disbelief at her nerve.

"Thank God for that," she yelled back. With that, she got into the car and drove away.

Nathan stood there with his mouth open.

"What a bitch," he muttered, and walked back to his own house.

Haley continued to drive until she reached Karen's. She went inside and found it empty.

"Karen?" she called.

Karen came out from the kitchen wearing oven mitts. "Haley, hi, I decided to close early today, since it's so hot, but you're more than welcome to hang out here," she said, smiling.

"Thanks," Haley smiled.

"Help yourself to anything, Lucas is on the roof.

Haley climbed the back stairs to the roof to find Lucas sitting with a pen and paper.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she asked, taking a seat next to him.

"Making a prediction for this year," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I figured since its senior year, I wanna make some predictions and see if they come true by the time I graduate," he explained.

"Aw, Luke, that's cute. What do you have so far?" she asked.

"This year I'm going to make a difference in someone's life. Cliché I know," he shrugged.

"I think it's nice. I want to make one," she said, grabbing some paper and the pen.

"This year I am going to…completely avoid Nathan Scott…" she scribbled down.

"Hales, you don't have to just because of me…" Lucas said, starting to feel bad.

"Are you kidding? I just talked to him again today, and it's like…he is completely immune to other people's feelings. He is clearly missing a sensitivity chip somewhere," she said, scowling.

"Told ya," he smiled.

"You did indeed," she nodded in agreement. "So, what ever happened with you and Brooke?"

"Well, we had kind of a long talk on the porch, while she was drunk of course. She told me all about how her parents ignore and stuff…I felt really bad for her," he said.

"So what happened?" Haley inquired.

"Well, out of nowhere she starts trying to make out with me. I was so surprised I just went along with it, and we went upstairs…"

"Lucas, you didn't…"

"No, but she wanted to. I stopped her and then she passed out in my arms. I didn't know what else to do so I put her in one of the guest beds," he finished.

"That was really sweet of you, Luke," Haley said, nudging him. "Did she know it was you?"

"She must have remembered because she came to the river court earlier today to thank me," said Lucas.

"Lucas, she's actually talking to you!" Haley said excitedly.

"Yeah well, that didn't last long. She also said she couldn't be friends with me because of Nathan, and that if she didn't say hi to me at school not to take it personally," said Lucas with a half-smile.

"Aw, Luke, I'm sorry," she said, rubbing his shoulder sympathetically.

"No biggie, I knew it was too good to be true. Me and Brooke Davis, that would be such a joke," he shook his head.

"You never know Luke, she might surprise you," said Haley.

"Ah well. Feel like going down to the Court? You need to brush up on your basketball skills before school starts if you wanna try out for the team," he smirked.

"Oh yeah, I'll get right on that," she laughed.

"Well, you could always show up Nathan one day," he grinned, extending a hand to her.

"That would be nice," she agreed, taking his hand and standing up. The two made their way out of the café and down to the river court.

Haley just watched like always, as Lucas shot around. Haley felt that his talent was wasted, no thanks to that asshole neighbor of hers. Lucas was so good, and no one but his river court friends and Haley would ever get to see it.

Little did they know, Lucas' uncle Keith was driving by with varsity coach Whitey Durham.

"I'm telling you, Whitey, the kid has a lot of talent and potential. If you have any openings, you really should give him a shot," Keith said while driving by.

Whitey studied the way Lucas played. He couldn't disagree with Keith.

"Well, lucky for you, we do have one opening in the varsity line-up, thanks to that idiot Tim Smith's DUI," Whitey grumbled.

"So, what do ya say?" Keith asked hopefully.

Whitey considered Keith's proposition.

"Alright Scotty boy, pass the word along to him. Tell him if he wants to play, then to be in the school gym the day before school starts next week," Whitey agreed.

"Good man, Whitey," said Keith.

"Yeah, yeah, no need to kiss my ass," said Whitey, but he smiled.

The two continued to watch Lucas shoot around, playing one-on-one with Haley, who really just stood there helplessly. They smiled at each other.

Lucas Scott had no idea just how much his life was going to change.


End file.
